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James has specialized in the mental health and substance abuse treatment field for over eighteen years. He has seen first-hand how establishing a good therapeutic relationship throughout the counseling process makes treatment a successful experience. Through various strategies and techniques that are evidenced based, patients have been able to raise their own insights and gain a healthier sense of self.  As a result, patients have been able to develop and establish positive coping skills to assist with combating their own self-defeating behaviors associated with anxiety, depression and addiction.

In addition, James is an approved provider able to conduct assessments for individuals who have been found guilty of driving under the Influence (DUI) in New Jersey and surrounding states. If you have completed your required 12 or 48 hour classes or have been identified as a Multiple Offender, he is authorized to complete your evaluation and provide the mandatory treatment needed to comply with your IDRC requirements.

Of particular interest to Camden County Probationers, James is a preferred provider for drug and alcohol assessment and anger management classes. He understands how important it is to have your evaluations completed and forwarded to your Probation Officer especially when this is the last task a client needs done before completing probation. All reports are completed and faxed within 24 hours from the clients initial meeting.

Types of Therapy: 

Gestalt, Mindfulness-Based (MBCT), Person-Centered and Family Systems

Modalities:

Individuals, Couples and Groups

Specialties:      

Substance Use, Dual Diagnosis, Mood Disorders, Early Intervention (EI), Solution Focused Brief (SFBT), Cognitive Behavioral (CBT), Strength-Based and Rational Emotive Behavior (REBT)

Joanne has an eclectic background beginning with her first degree in Laboratory Medicine. After many years of experience in a variety of clinical laboratories (hospital, oncology, reference labs), she returned to college to achieve her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Social Work from Rutgers University, from where she graduated with honors. She has also drawn on her determination and abilities to survive as a single parent of 2, even managing her own home-based childcare business, coupled with a weekend lab job to make ends meet. Tenacity is her middle name; resourcefulness her forté.

Joanne’s passion for helping people is fueled by her ability to truly empathize with you, regardless of your situation. Her sincerity and compassion are palpable; she draws from her life experiences, her open-mindedness, her insight, and her innate ability to listen with an open mind, heart, and spirit.

Believing in a “team approach”, Joanne will help you to prioritize your own needs, with the goal of leading you to view your options from different perspectives, thus enabling you to make decisions that are otherwise difficult or that seem insurmountable.

She is strongly supportive of the under-served needs of those who are stressed by their role as caregivers for those with Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia. She is also well-versed in helping those with depression, anxieties, grief in its many forms, relationship difficulties, and mindfulness (including self-care).

Currently, Joanne does not accept insurance (that option is in process). Fee will be decided at your first session, based on what is amenable to both parties.

Pat has been working with helping families to lead healthier lives by offering programs such as:

• Active Parenting,
• Active Parenting for Teens, and
• Cooperative Parenting and Divorce.

She also helps partners and families heal from the effects of Trauma and Sexual Addiction. Pat believes that, hope can be regained, lives can be rebuilt, and meaningful change can be created within a caring environment.

Anita is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Mentor/Life Coach with a Master’s in Education. She is comfortable working with Individuals, couples (married and/or partnered) and groups.

Philosophy:  The way to inner peace, balance, wholeness, and healing is to embrace thought patterns and a belief system that lead to an empowered lifestyle.

Specialization:  Helping to re-frame thought patterns so that clients may create a map of their world that moves from a stuck and painful place to a path of action; action that leads to wholeness and the realization of personal, professional, and /or relationship goals achieved.

Healing Approach:  Anita provides a safe and comfortable environment that offers acceptance and support to all who come.  She looks at the whole person with the intention of enhancing and restoring well-being by using a combination of the following Cognitive

Therapies: Rational-Emotive-Behavioral Therapy (REBT)  and Neuro-Linguistic-Programming (NLP). The focus of each session is to empower clients so that they are not victims to whatever past, present, and/or future circumstance encountered.

Anita works with:  Individuals, Couples (married and/or partnered), and Groups

Issues to Resolve:  Codependency, ACOA Issues, Depression, Relationship Issues (self-esteem, marriage, partner, professional, etc.), Loss (of a loved one, pet, divorce, separation, health, job, etc.), Life Transitions, Stress/Anxiety Management, Communication Skills Enhanced.

Kathy is a marriage and family therapist with many years of experience counseling individuals, couples, and families. She is a genuine, compassionate, and non-judgmental therapist who offers a safe and supportive space for clients to be authentic and work towards their personal goals. She strives to help clients increase emotional security and strengthen connections within the family unit and intimate relationships.

Kathy has a Master’s degree in Counseling and Psychology from Temple University and recently completed the Post Graduate Certificate Program in Marriage and Family Therapy at Council for Relationships. She is currently pursuing her LMFT. Her areas of expertise include building healthy relationships, developing effective communication skills, addiction and recovery, codependency, anxiety and depression, grief and loss, and healing from trauma. To increase self awareness and emotional connection to self and others, she uses an integrative approach, which typically includes interventions from the Emotionally Focused, Bowen Family Systems, Internal Family Systems, Structural, Attachment, and Mindfulness models.

Theresa is a licensed clinical social worker who began her career in 1992 working with caregivers of elderly and disabled people.

She has since counseled elderly people in their homes and worked with the severe and persistent mentally ill in a partial care setting.  She earned her clinical license in drug and alcohol counseling while working with individuals with co-occurring disorders.

She has built a reputation in the community as a client-centered therapist who focuses on “unconditional positive regard and the client’s unique world view.”  She has experience with various populations and mental health disorders.  Her social work background has taught her that people are predisposed to illnesses and that one’s environment plays a critical role in how these illnesses impact an individual’s life.

Theresa works with individuals, couples and families suffering from trauma, self-esteem, family crisis, and anxiety and mood disorders.  She accepts private insurance and private payment.

Erik received his graduate degree in Social Work from Rutgers University and is a Licensed Social Worker in the state of New Jersey. He studied and is interested in working with vulnerable populations. He initially served as an intern at The Starting Point and chose to remain after his graduation to start his own practice.

Erik works with children, adolescents, and adults who are seeking help with issues such as self-esteem/worth, anxiety, sexuality, recovery from trauma, feeling stuck in life, codependency, and relationship issues. He offers his services in individual and family sessions, implementing various therapeutic approaches catered to the client’s needs. He is committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for his clients.

Erik’s philosophy is that the role of the counselor is to take the journey of healing with the client, not lead the client.

Lisa is a licensed psychologist who works with children, adolescents, and adults of all ages.  She recognizes that at times anyone can experience anxiety and/or depression as they navigate through life’s challenges, whether it is struggles with school or career, relationship difficulties, parenting challenges, or coping with illness, trauma, loss, and aging. These challenges can sometimes lead to detrimental behavioral changes, especially for children and adolescents. In an atmosphere of collaboration and empathy, Dr. Farkas aims to help clients find joy in their lives, using a variety of empirically based treatment techniques.  She employs psycho-education to help clients identify negative thoughts and beliefs that create barriers to their own happiness and fulfillment. She firmly believes that most issues can be addressed in a short-term therapy model when both the client and therapist are motivated to affect change.

Karyn is a Certified Spiritual Life Coach. She is an active and vibrant individual with a charismatic personality that lifts up the energy in a room full of people.  

Karyn’s personal and professional journey has helped her accumulate in-depth experience and expertise as a Spiritual Life Coach specializing in addiction, narcissistic abuse, co-dependency, confidence building,  self-love, self-care, health and wellness.  She helps individuals reprogram their lack and limiting belief mindsets, overcome their struggles, and pursue the life they always dreamt of living. She assists in building confidence, self-esteem, self-assurance, and healthy decision-making skills. She is a positive force who encourages individuals to believe in themselves, tapping into their potential to lead successful, happy, and inspirational lives. She enables individuals to choose life beyond the pain, traumas, suffering, and failures they have encountered in their lives and transform themselves into a magnet of success in all areas of life by becoming the best version of themselves emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  

Karyn has worked diligently through her life lessons and has overcome many obstacles that once held her down. As a professional, her philosophy has always been to embrace adversity, to develop continuously and bring order to chaos. She aspires to devote her time, energy, and talents to educating people about perfectly nurturing self-love and assisting them in healing through in–depth Life Coaching sessions that end with a powerful spiritual mind treatment, also know as an affirmative prayer. She can provide testimonials from her clients if anyone is interested in learning more about the power of transformation when working with a coach.  

Christine Batra is a board certified and licensed professional counselor.  She is also an honors graduate from the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University.

As a therapist, Christine believes that deep within each individual lies the potential to live a fulfilled and engaging life. However, through the unconscious reinforcement of maladaptive beliefs from childhood along with the rigors and challenges of everyday life,these latent qualities lie dormant waiting to manifest. Utilizing an integrative Psycho-therapeutic approach, Christine helps to remove unhealthy emotional barriers to achieve lasting harmony and balance.

This therapeutic approach employs theory and research from Emotion Focused Therapy, Psychodynamic Psychology, Neuropsychology, and Internal Family Systems Therapy and, when integrated, offers tailored treatment for children, adolescents, adults and couples. Her practice can assist clients who experience anxiety, depression, relationship/marital conflict, addiction, personality disorders, and/or existential inquiry and purpose.

Christine offers a supportive environment where empathy and understanding are paramount. She paces treatment on each client’s unique needs to help them discover emotional freedom and authentic self-expression.